Congress May be Next to Say, “Go Outside and Play”

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> Public News Service-OH
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> December 07, 2010
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> Congress May be Next to Say, “Go Outside and Play”
> COLUMBUS, Ohio – Seven hours in front of electronic entertainment, and seven minutes outside. That’s what constitutes “play” for most kids, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation study ‘“ and that lack of outdoor activity is being cited as one reason for rising childhood obesity in legislation recently introduced in Congress.
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> The “Moving Outdoors in Nature Act” would encourage states to collaborate with communities, businesses and parents to increase children’s time outdoors, says Patrick Fitzgerald, director of education advocacy for the National Wildlife Federation (NWF).
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> “These state strategies could look at things like walking and biking to school; looking at the school system and after-school programs and seeing how we can have time for outdoor play and outdoor activities.”
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> Fitzgerald says getting people of all ages to spend time outside is not just a health issue; it’s also important for the economy, especially in parts of the state where hunting is prevalent.
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> “With the decline that we’re seeing in hunting participation, that has an impact on the state agencies that sell hunting licenses, and also the companies that sell that equipment.”
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> The bill, H.R. 6426, has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. In addition to NWF, the Sierra Club, the YMCA are supporting the legislation, too, as part of the Outdoors Alliance for Kids.
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